A resident at the Caseyville Nursing and Rehab Center in Caseyville, Illinois died in a local hospital after experiencing a nursing home fall. The resident was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease as well as other age related problems.
The victim was totally dependent on staff for all activities of daily living. She had a very limited range of motion and no trunk control. Staff members at the facility failed to properly use the mechanical lift that was required for all of the resident’s transfers.
Full body mechanical lifts, often called Hoyer lifts, utilize several slings and hooks to completely support the resident during a transfer. Obviously, during these transfers, the resident is extremely vulnerable.
The procedure for conducting one of these transfers requires specific training. The slings must be attached, then the resident is lifted a few inches, then the slings are checked again. The Caseyville nursing home staff did not check the lift’s straps once the resident was suspended. The straps slipped off of their hooks, and the resident fell to the floor sustaining a lethal head injury.
Repeated observations by the Illinois nursing home inspectors showed that the staff had almost certainly never been properly trained in the use of the Hoyer lift, since they repeatedly failed to check the slings while being observed.
If you have a loved one who has been injured while being transferred with a Hoyer lift, contact my law offices for a free and confidential evaluation of your case. At my law offices, we never charge a fee unless we earn a recovery for you.
Other blog posts on nursing home falls:
Resident fractures hip in fall at Caseyville Nursing & Rehab
Fall from edge of bed at Integrity of Alton
Unsupervised resident falls from wheelchair, breaks hip
Call light not being answered at Aperion of Mascoutah